11:11 PM
by vrede
Summary: After two and a half years of wishing Sasuke would come back home, one night Sakura finds out that she may just have to wait a little bit longer. (Takes place before the beginning of Shippuden)


11:08 PM.

That's what time it was when Sakura got her first glimpse of Sasuke in two and half years of awaiting his return.

Sakura slowly sat up in her bed and turned her head towards the person now standing above her. It almost looked as if he was glowing from the moonlight outside her now open window.

Now, normally a situation like this would be classified as "romantic," however, Sakura knew better. This was Sasuke, after all.

Sasuke Uchiha- the man she's loved since she was 12-years old, the man who always had a way of constantly letting her know how much of annoyance she was to him, and yes, the man who left her in the cold (minutes after she confessed her undying love for him) with only an ambiguous _'thank you' _as his farewell. His black heart had no capacity to love, making this almost the exact _opposite_ of romantic. Sakura was not a fool.

It's true that by now she had convinced herself he was lost forever in his search for revenge, and that there was no chance of him returning to Konoha, however...- and although she would never admit it- she still held hope for him deep within her broken heart, and probably would for the rest of her life.

Sakura continued to stare up at him, unconciously clenching her sheets until she realized her fingers were beginning to hurt, and slowly unclenched them. She was speechless, yet she had so many things that she wanted to say- to_ ask. _It dawned on her that she was acting much more calmly than she imagined herself ever being during this situation, and she waited for her temperature to rise, signalling just how angry she was at him. But it never happened. All she could do was stare at him with an equally blank look on her face. The silence between herself and Sasuke seemed like it lasted for hours, and it was driving her insane with anticipation. Finally, she decided to break it.

"Sasuke," she whispered, deliberately leaving out the_ -kun_... It brought back too many bad memories. "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke flinched at the sound of her voice, but his expression quickly reverted back to being unreadable. He must have noticed.

When Sasuke refused to answer, Sakura slowly pulled out her legs from underneath her blanket and sheets, one at at time, before rising from her bed. She ignored the fact that she was only wearing her underwear and white tanktop, and asked him once more, her voice tighter than when she last spoke.

Sasuke continued to stare at her blankly, this time making sure he kept his emotions in check. He began walking towards her slowly, his hand now resting loosely on the hilt of his katana.

Sakura noticed this, of course, and her expression quickly turned from blank to alarmed. She took a step back away from Sasuke, waiting to make sure he was doing exactly what she thought he was doing. She sneaked a glance up at his face, and was surprised to see his lips upturned into a smirk. His eyes stayed unrevealing, successfully hiding any emotions he was feeling at that moment (if he was feeling any at all).

Sasuke stopped just as he was mere inches away from Sakura, who was now standing flat against her bedroom wall thinking of possible ways to escape this place and run far away from here, just as Sasuke did two and a half years ago. His hands were now pressed against the wall, trapping Sakura inbetween them and he slowly lowered his face. Onyx met jade as his forehead brushed against hers.

He was so close that Sakura could smell him. After a few seconds of just staring at each other, she came to the conclusion that he smelled exactly like the morning after a thunderstorm. Of course.

Sasuke looked down, his eyes now hidden from Sakura's. His head slowly inched down towards her right shoulder, where he lightly laid his chin upon. Sakura felt, and heard, him sigh against her, immediately giving her goosebumps. Sakura could imagine him smirking at her reaction.

Everything felt so surreal at this point, and Sakura had so many questions running through her head that she felt it would explode.

_Why was Sasuke in her bedroom? Why wasn't he saying anything? Why was he so close to her? Didn't he hate her? Didn't he detest the very ground she stood upon?_

Sakura wanted answers, but she couldn't seem to get herself to move, leaving her words jammed down the back of her throat. She hated feeling so out of control.

Feeling a weight lifted off her shoulder, Sasuke was now looking back into her eyes, their noses touching. And just as she felt his lips brush against hers, ever so lightly, he fleed. Sakura looked up just in time to see him jump out of her window, obviously in a hurry to leave for a place so completely unknown to her.

And out of curiousity, Sakura looked to her right, where her nightstand was.

Her alarm clock read 11:11 PM in bright red letters, and Sakura smiled, a single tear falling down her face.

Somehow the hope that dwelled inside her broken heart swelled, and she wondered how much longer she would have to wait.


End file.
